7 Minutes
by TheContinuousWriter
Summary: Edmund and Belle had been childhood playmates. After not seeing one another for 5 years and not hearing from the other in 3, things change when Belle meets Edmund again at Susan's Sweet Sixteen. Belle has...matured. So has Ed.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Remember Me?

The Pevensies stepped out of the train from school. It was finally summer and the four were completely tired. Susan was wiped out by her Honor's Qualifying Exams. Peter was weak from non-stop catch-up work. Lucy was tuckered out from dance classes, and Edmund could barely stand from the Championship Rugby game. They carried their bags off the train and pulled them up and down steps.

Peter yanked Susan's case up a step and groaned. "You know, its a wonder you didn't break your back with these books!"

Susan rolled her eyes. "If you actually did any of your work, you might actually have some muscles."

"Why do you even need these books anyway?" Edmund asked as he helped Peter pull it up. "You do know its summer holidays."

"I just wanted to get in a few extra classes before school starts again." Susan said as fingered through the mail.

Lucy looked up and down the busy morning streets of London, searching for their mother's car. "She should be here by now..."

"If she was here you wouldn't be saying that right now." Edmund said, trying to smart. Lucy gave him an angry glare.

Suddenly, a shriek of joy came from Susan as a letter shook violently in her hand. She smiled and jumped up and down. "Aaaa!!"

"What?" Peter asked, concerned, as he rushed to her side.

"The Merimens are coming for the summer!" Susan cried as she smiled. Peter took the letter from her hand.

"Merimens? You mean Johny and Belle?" Peter asked, squinting at the paper.

Lucy looked at the lettering. "Doesn't look like Johny's writing. Its far too neat!"

Edmund snatched it up from Peter's hand. "Thats because its Belle's writing. A bit more curvy than I last saw, but its hers, all right."

"You should know," Lucy said with a giant grin on. "You wrote her love letters for three years!"

"They weren't love letters, they were..." Edmund tried to think of a reasonable excuse. "The were friendly writings."

Susan laughed. "Well she was your wife at an early age."

Edmund's nostrils flared. "She was not my wife. We were nine years old and she divorced me!"

Behind him, Peter burst out laughing. "You should have seen the look on Mr. Merimen's face when Belle introduced you as her 'dear husband'."

Edmund looked down and the letter, hoping to escape from the mockery. "It says:

_Dearest Pevensies,_

_Johny and I have managed to swindle a train ride ticket to Finchley. We will be arriving soon, probably two days after you all return from school. I will be waiting to be reunite with you and reminisce on our play dates. It has been five long years and I miss you all. Peter, hopefully you are not as gullible..._

Edmund gave a small laugh and Peter huffed.

_Susan, I know your wisdom will stretch beyond the stars. Lucy, you must still be as sweet as a before. And Edmund, I apologize for loosing contact but I miss your words dearly._

_With Love._

_Belle Merimen_

Edmund sighed and folded the letter back into it's neat rectangle. Belle was coming back and he was, for the first time, nervous beyond belief.


	2. Chapter 2

Chp.2: Arrive

Edmund looked at the letter as they drove to the train station to pick up Johny and Belle, scanning each word, each phrase, searching for the true meanings. What did she mean by "I apologize for loosing contact"? As he recalled they had gotten into a small fight. Well...it wasn't really a small fight. Edmund, at his brink of puberty at 12 years old, told Belle he loved her. What a shock it was for her to find on a small letter, the words: It would seem that I'm in love with you. Belle was so shocked, she wrote a letter telling him to look upon his feelings again, to stop being a foolish adolescent, and to focus on someone else. Obviously, Edmund was destroyed and they never wrote each other again. Belle and Edmund had been playmates since they were born. When they were nine, Edmund pretended to be married to Belle. Yet soon Belle divorced Edmund for failure to support the family.

Unfortunately, Belle's family moved to Liverpool and they wrote each other whenever they could. They wrote each other for three years until the fight. Edmund wished that he could have said something different. Belle was his best friend and he let hormones get in the way of it.

Lucy, who sat next to Edmund in the back of the car, leaned over to see the letter. "She must be excited to see us."

Edmund looked over at her, then propped the letter under his chin. "I hope so."

"We're here!" Susan called from the front seat. Mr. Pevensie pulled onto the curb in front of the train station. The engine of the car stopped and Edmund and Lucy got out.

"Meet Belle and Johny at the opening of the doors." Mr. Pevensie said. He turned the engine back on. "Susan and I have to run a few errands. We'll be back to pick you up. Say hello for me!"

They picked up speed and drove away. Edmund watched as the car rolled on to the next lane. Lucy tugged on his jacket. "Come on, Ed."

Edmund followed Lucy the arriving part of the station. They sat at on the bench and waited. Waited. Waited until the loud speaker boomed: "Now arriving: Train 3:45" Edmund's head jerked up. A train pulled slowly into the tunnel. Questions raced wildly through his mind. Did she change?_ Well of course she did, its been 5 years. _Was she taller?_ She must've, time grows you. _But the most important question was: Is she still sore with me? Not even Edmund could reassure himself of the possible answer.

The train jerked to a stop. The doors hissed open. About twenty people filtered out. Edmund couldn't make out the faces. He lifted his head up and cried out, "Belle! Johny!"

There was no answer. Soon the train station was empty except for a few other people he was sure wasn't the Merimens. Still, the train doors remained open. A rather tall red haired boy stepped out of the train carrying a blue suitcase. He gave a small smirk and the birth mark on the corner of his mouth ensured it was Johny.

"Johny!" Lucy squealed as she ran to her old baby sitter. He embraced her tightly.

"My, my!" he exclaimed in his low voice. "You've certainly grown, Lu!"

Edmund smiled at Johny as Lucy briefed him on her current life. As she did, she jumped up and down merrily. He turned his attention back on the train. The doors seemed cold without life. Edmund waited for someone to emerge. Instead a loud thump came from the inside. A voice cried, "Johny! Help me!"

Edmund ran inside and saw a girl with a black straight jacket, white shirt, green hat, and plaid green skirt bending over an open suitcase. Her belongings were sprawled out on the floor. She quickly tried to throw them back in the case.

"Oh, what a klutz!" she exclaimed.

"Belle?" Edmund finally asked. The girl looked up. Her green eyes looked into his.

"Ed?" the girl cocked her head to the side. Edmund gave a small smile. She jumped up and covered her mouth. "Oh, Ed, it is you! It really is!"

She ran into his arms. This surprised him. He had thought she'd be sore but, no, she embraced him tenderly. He couldn't help but to hug back. "I've missed you!"

"I thought you'd be sore with me." Edmund said, his head burried in her wavy black hair. She pulled away.

"Um....we can talk about that later, Ed." Belle said looking away. She began to head for her bag but Edmund grabbed her arm.

"I really am sorry."

"Not now Edmund. We'll have time for that later." As she picked up her repacked suitcase, Edmund couldn't help but notice how much she changed. Her hair was no longer wild and curly, but soft and wavy. He had realized earlier that her skin was porcelain soft and her green eyes were full of wisdom and experience. As she stood, he adored her figure. It was curvy but slender. As they headed out the train doors, Edmund found it hard not to drool.


	3. Chapter 3

Chp.3 Ride

Edmund stood on the curb of the train station, keeping an eye out for their parent's car. Meanwhile, Lucy talked excitedly to the Merrimens.

"And you'll never guess what happened when we got to the professor's house!" She said with a giant grin on her face. "We entered a portal through a wardrobe to a magical land called Narnia! And we all became kings and queens. But we had to come back because ewe saw the lamp post!"

"Oh, Lu..." Johny said, laughing as she jumped on his lap. "You always had the imagination."

"But its all true! And thats not even the end of it!" Lucy said, practically pouncing on Johny's knee. "We came back a year later by the call of the magnificent Prince Caspian! And we all-"

"Lucy..." Edmund suddenly interrupted. His eyes were shooting warnings. "I think thats enough for today."

She fully received the message. "Johny, about how old are you now?"

The red haired boy smirked, showing off his birthmark. "Well, lets see...I'm exactly two years older than Belle which makes me 17 years old."

"And Belle's 15!" Lucy said as she turned to a quiet Belle. She sat on her suitcase cross legged with her head leaning on the palm of her hand. Her head turned to them as her name was mentioned. Lucy gleamed. "Just like Edmund!"

Edmund looked over at Lucy and then Belle. They looked into each other's eyes for a second before Belle looked away. Even though her face was red, she didn't want to admit it.

"So..."Belle began. "When do you think your parents will be here?

Lucy looked up at the clock tower. 4:30. "They should be here soon."

A sigh came from Belle's lips. She took out a red book from her purse and flipped through the pages. It was an old photo album Edmund had given her the day she left. They were photos of him and her at their school Christmas party. There was a picture of them singing in the chorus. She remember at the moment the picture was taken, she suddenly forgot the rest of the song and she had to ad lib the whole way. She gave a small laugh and turned the page. There appeared to be a blurry picture of him and her being chased by Peter. Belle remembered that all too well. She and him had put a mistletoe over him and the girl he had a crush on. When the girl didn't kiss him, Peter angrily chased them yelling "You incompetent gremlins!" A giant grin spread across her face as she closed the album. There were so many good memories between them. Why did she have to let her temper get the better of her? It didn't matter. What was said then was done. It stained the both of them and she knew it well.

Belle traced her fingers around the edge of the album. She winced as she cut herself on a staple in the spine of the book. Edmund had hand made this album, so there had to be some things that were flawed. She remembered him taking his old red shirt, cutting it up into pieces, and stapling them all to cardboard.

"They're here." Edmund said from in front of her. She tried to quickly shove the album in her purse as the car pulled up to the curb. Johny jumped into the front seat beside Mr. Pevensie and Lucy quickly took the window seat. Edmund motioned for Belle to go first but she pushed him in without a word. Edmund sat in the middle seat between the two girls.

"Welcome back!" Mr. Pevensie called from the driver's seat. "Did you have a pleasant train ride?"

Johny laughed. "What train ride is ever pleasant?"

"That is true." Mr. Pevensie returned a small laugh. "So how have you been, Belle?"

Belle, who stared out the window, said. "I've been well...Liverpool is different but having good family makes it feel like home."

Edmund watched Belle as she spoke. He noticed how she wasn't as outgoing as she was. _Thats a stupid thing to notice..._Edmund thought. _Everyone outgrows their childish curiosity._ Still, she was almost too quiet. _Maybe its just the shyness of returning home._

"...All in all, Liverpool is quiet nice." Belle finished.

"Mr. Pevensie," Johny said. "Where is Susan?"

"I thought you might ask." Mr. Pevensie said with a smile. "She's with her mother and Peter, getting things ready for her 17th birthday party."

Edmund giggled. He knew Johny had always fancied Susan. Perhaps this time, he wouldn't be such a nervous wreck around her.


End file.
